The Mall of America is celebrating their 25th year of operation with a unique proposition for indie authors, they want to hire a writer to be in residence for five days, to write about a week in the life of the nation’s largest mall. The writer who wins the contest will be flown in and will receive four nights at a nearby hotel and given a $400 gift card for food and drink. … [Read more...] about Mall of America is looking for a Writer in Residence
Indie Author News
Does KDP Paperback Publishing Really Solve Anything?
Never one to be a naysayer, we at GoodEReader ordinarily go fan-girl level crazy over a new startup that innovates anything to do with digital publishing. But a new beta program from Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing seems to solve a problem that no one has. Until now, authors who wished to create an ebook for sale on Amazon went through a fairly straightforward upload … [Read more...] about Does KDP Paperback Publishing Really Solve Anything?
Are Your Favorite Characters Taking Over Your Life?
To rephrase a line from the really fun comedy The Truth about Cats and Dogs, "You can love books, just don't loooooove books." Unfortunately, a new survey has found that for many fiction readers, their favorite characters are stepping out of the pages and into their daily lives. Before you have to wonder if Christian Grey has invaded more than a few bedrooms, never fear, it's … [Read more...] about Are Your Favorite Characters Taking Over Your Life?
New Author Services Startups Focus on Speed
A day in the life of a traditional publishing deal... According to one author, her manuscript was submitted to various agents between January and April of 2010. There were a few nibbles from people who wanted to see "fulls," or agents who requested the entire manuscript. In August of 2010, it had been greenlighted with a major publisher following its win in a writing … [Read more...] about New Author Services Startups Focus on Speed
One Wattpad Story Has 282 YEARS’ Worth of Reads
Indie authors have long had a phenomenal tool that helped them reach readers and build a following. Wattpad, the free reading and writing platform, has provided both authors and book fans with an abundance of content and an instant audience. As one of the world's largest platforms of its kind, Wattpad has truly changed the game in terms of connecting readers to writers. The … [Read more...] about One Wattpad Story Has 282 YEARS’ Worth of Reads
Is Crowdfunding Your Book Worth It?
There's little doubt that crowdfunding has reshaped the way we function as a society. A study last year from the University of Pennsylvania found the popular site Kickstarter has had economic impact in the billions of dollars, and created more than 300,000 jobs since it launched. Competitor sites like TeeChip and IndieGogo surely have similar functionality, even if the sheer … [Read more...] about Is Crowdfunding Your Book Worth It?
Samhain Closes: Is Amazon to Blame?
Well-known romance publisher Samhain Publishing sent out a recent email to its authors, informing them that--like so many other mainstays in the past few months--they will be closing their doors. Like others, they cited the decline in book sales coupled with the ever-present struggle to get noticed in a market that is beyond saturated with other great books. Unlike some … [Read more...] about Samhain Closes: Is Amazon to Blame?
Tate Publishing Company Closes As Others Step In to Fill the Void
It's been a rough patch for the publishing industry, especially where indie authors are concerned. With the sudden boom of the digital publishing revolution, startups appeared across the globe to help authors publish their books. While most of the major retail book platforms offer some kind of dashboard for authors with the know-how and confidence to go it alone, just as many … [Read more...] about Tate Publishing Company Closes As Others Step In to Fill the Void
Authors and Politics Don’t Mix
We've probably all been there. We come across a great book by a new author, and immediately seek out our new favorite writer on social media. After connecting, the truth comes out: this person is not who we thought they were based on their ability to craft a wonderful story. Their Facebook feed may be filled with shared memes that go against our political and religious views, … [Read more...] about Authors and Politics Don’t Mix
Amazon Kindle Write On will be Closing in March
Amazon Kindle Write On is a community where writers share their works in progress and solicit feedback from people on story direction, editing and fact checking. The service publicly launched in March 2015 and was in beta since late 2014. This service was utterly doomed from the start because it was trying to compete against WattPad. Amazon has just announced that they are … [Read more...] about Amazon Kindle Write On will be Closing in March